Associate Professor of Biological Sciences

Jessica Bolker an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences has introduced Marine Immersion, a new course offered for first-year Biology majors. This weeklong, two-credit course at the UNH/Cornell Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore Island allows first-year biology majors to get to know one another and the world of marine biology, before arriving on campus. “It’s not just ‘welcome to college,’ it’s ‘welcome to your discipline,’” says Bolker.

Bolker’s excitement at the transformative power of teaching is palpable as she describes high school students becoming biologists and biologists embracing physics. “If I do my job, then maybe I’m opening a door my students can walk through. My job is to make it possible, but they’ve got to do it.”